Many of these elegant space saving beds come with single or double sided drawers or cabinets, skilfully designed to ensure that they mount perfectly on the wall or in a closet and remain secure until they are lowered down to the floor. In this way, the space they take up is not lost as storage space, but is integrated into the structure of the bed. This is particularly of benefit for children’s rooms, since if they have a playroom doubling as a bedroom, the bedding and clothes are best stored within the bed, leaving their own furniture for their toys.

This design prevailed for centuries. Throughout history, very few aspects of the bed changed. Eventually, improvements developed with the idea of bedsprings. Although invented in the 1870’s, they weren’t manufactured and sold for many years. Providing wonderful, novel comfort, these springs removed the loathed lumps which had prevented a satisfying night’s sleep. Also invented in the 19th century, the metal bed frame proved inhospitable to bed bugs, while wood frames were weakened by them. The new bed frame would continue to support up to 10 layers of sheets, blankets, quilts and more at that time. Resulting from countless, uncomfortable nights, a flawed design was ultimately changed.